Martin Lewis: How to save £1,000 in a day

How much do you earn in a day? Is it over £1,000 after tax – if so, don’t bother reading this. For everyone else, taking a day to work through their finances could be the most lucrative day of the
year. So here are my top ten things to try.

To inspire you before we start, here’s a tweet I got from payattentionpls who tried it: "Saved £2,000+ switching card and £370 on internet, phone, TV. Gas and Elec next."

1. "I got £338 back because I wash my work uniform"

If you wear a uniform to work, and that means anything from a simple logo’d polo shirt to full nurse’s attire, but have to pay to wash, repair or replace it yourself, you may able to reclaim cash
in tax overpaid over the last six years. Often we’re talking about £60, but in some cases it can be much more. For full help on how to do it, see mse.me/uniforms

2. Free £100 for switching to top customer service bank

Firstdirect.co.uk pays £100 if you switch to it. As it’s been head and shoulders winner in every customer service poll I’ve ever done,
that’s a corker. Though it’s only for those with £22,800+ salaries or you’ll pay a fee. It's also possible to get an extra £25 on top, full info at mse.me/bankaccounts

Alternatively, the new Santander.co.uk 123 account charges £2 a month (plus you must pay in £500 a month), but pays 1-3% cashback up on
bills like council tax, phone and utilities, plus if you have enough in it, gives up to 3% interest. This can add up to a serious whack for many, though, sadly, it regularly comes last in customer
service polls.

3. Reclaim PPI for FREE

The swamp of adverts on the TV may make you think you need a company to reclaim missold payment protection insurance on current or old credit cards, store cards or loans, but you can do it yourself
easily and for free. Sometimes it only takes a phone call – and you may be entitled to £1,000s back.

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Over £440m was paid out in December alone. If you're not sure whether you had it, have lost the documents, or need help, both my PPI Reclaiming guide at moneysavingexpert.com/ppi and which.co.uk have free template letters to send off and
FAQs.

4. Act now to slash the cost of summer spending abroad

Most credit & debit cards add a hidden 3% load, so spend £100 worth of euros and it’ll cost £103. Though the extra isn’t broken out on your statement.

There are four load-free credit cards: Halifax Clarity, Post Office, Saga (over 50s) or Select (for Nationwide FlexAccount holders ONLY) that give PERFECT rates worldwide. So pocket one of these
for spending abroad, pay it off in full and you get perfect exchange rates.

If you fail to repay each month (not worth bothering with if you will), you’ll be charged between 11.9% and 16.9% representative APR depending on the card.

There are billions of pounds sitting in forgotten accounts – may be yours or a relative’s. For old bank accounts, savings and premium bonds, use the free mylostaccount.org.uk. For pensions, it’s The Pension Service, unit trusts the Investment Management Association, and investment trusts The Association of Investment Companies.

6. Cut credit card interest to 22 months 0%

If you're racking up interest, get a NEW card balance transfer. It pays off other debts so you owe it instead, at a lower rate. The longest 0% deals right now are Barclaycard and Halifax, both
offering accepted new cardholders 22 months 0%, though Barclaycard’s fee is lower at 2.9% of the amount transferred, compared with Halifax’s 3.5%. More info and options at mse.me/btsIf you’re doing this, then there are a few rules to obey. Always clear the debt or shift it again before the 0% period ends or the rates jump
to 17.9% representative APR. Never spend on these cards, as the spending isn’t at the cheap rate, and never miss a monthly repayment or you’ll likely lose the 0% deal.

7. Get £1,000s council tax rebate

Up to 400,000 homes in England and Scotland are in the wrong bands. If you successfully challenge it, you could be due big money. One of my site users did this in February, and cut her bill to £350
year with a £2,470 rebate from when she’d moved in.

To check, first compare your band to neighbours’ in identical or similar properties to see if it’s higher. Then work out roughly what your house was worth back in 1991, as that’s what the bands
depend on. It’s much easier to do than it sounds – full help & free tools at moneysavingexpert.com/council

8. Try the back of the sofa cash challenge

Research says over £40 million may be down the back of our sofas alone, never mind car seats, trouser pockets, old handbags, winter coats and more. So have a spring clean rummage and see what you
find. If you are really lucky, there could be an old mobile, which you can flog it to the best payer by comparing mobile buying sites.

9. Easy £250 saved on gas & electricity

This is dead easy. A typical home on standard bills pays £1,320 a year, the same on cheapest tariff £1,020 - so switch. Just go onto a Consumerfocus.org.uk approved comparison site to find the cheapest price.

10. Reclaim £100s in lost Tesco vouchers Many lose or forget 'em

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But it's now easy to claw back unused vouchers and only takes a couple of minutes. You’ll need to go to Tesco Clubcard online and enter your details to access your account. Click on 'Your vouchers'
on the left-hand side column and you should see a table listing the vouchers you still have to spend.

These can be printed off for used in-store or online. I’ve come across people who got back hundreds of pounds of vouchers.

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Comments (7)

Who but MLA's and government officials, footballers and other idiot sport people earn a thousand pounds a day?? Maybe golfers, tennis players. But me i have to live on about 12,000 pounds A YEAR!

Who but MLA's and government officials, footballers and other idiot sport people earn a thousand pounds a day?? Maybe golfers, tennis players. But me i have to live on about 12,000 pounds A YEAR!Cookiecutter

Who but MLA's and government officials, footballers and other idiot sport people earn a thousand pounds a day?? Maybe golfers, tennis players. But me i have to live on about 12,000 pounds A YEAR!

Score: 0

manyogie says...8:00am Sat 12 May 12

I know a way to earn thousands.... Just send me a fiver and I,ll tell you......

I know a way to earn thousands....
Just send me a fiver and I,ll tell you......manyogie

I know a way to earn thousands.... Just send me a fiver and I,ll tell you......

Score: 0

Arjay says...9:11am Sat 12 May 12

I know a way to earn thousands... Just send me £4 and I'll tell you....

I know a way to earn thousands...
Just send me £4 and I'll tell you....Arjay

I know a way to earn thousands... Just send me £4 and I'll tell you....

Score: 0

O'Reilly says...7:16pm Sat 12 May 12

Unethical.....but legal. LOL

Unethical.....but legal. LOLO'Reilly

Unethical.....but legal. LOL

Score: 0

Joe Bloggs2 says...1:37pm Tue 15 May 12

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!Joe Bloggs2

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!

Score: 0

Joe Bloggs2 says...1:38pm Tue 15 May 12

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!Joe Bloggs2

If one has technical engineering skills a lot of money can be saved by doing ones own car maintenance. If one can buy the parts at "trade" or near trade price there are enormous savings to be made. Main snags are (1) You get your hands dirty. (2) Neighbours from hell WILL be jealous that you are saving money and they may make cat-calls about "lowering the tone of the neighbourhood". Work it out, if a garage charges £40 per hour you will need to earn £60 per hour to pay them! Unless you are a solicitor who charges £250 per hour you can't afford it!

Score: 0

Georgem says...2:41pm Mon 21 May 12

Yes! Claim back the PPI you legitimately agreed to take! It's ok, the rest of us will foot the bill, as usual! Free money! Yes! You get our money, absolutely free, by simply signing a contract without reading it, then whining "No fair!" on demand.

Yes! Claim back the PPI you legitimately agreed to take! It's ok, the rest of us will foot the bill, as usual! Free money! Yes! You get our money, absolutely free, by simply signing a contract without reading it, then whining "No fair!" on demand.Georgem

Yes! Claim back the PPI you legitimately agreed to take! It's ok, the rest of us will foot the bill, as usual! Free money! Yes! You get our money, absolutely free, by simply signing a contract without reading it, then whining "No fair!" on demand.

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